Tales From The Asylum Presents: Trick or Treat
by PandoraBlack13
Summary: A fan requested twisted tale of five teens who go looking for trouble and find it.
1. Chapter 1

Tales From The Asylum Presents Trick or Treat

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I do not own gargoyles or tales from the crypt.

A stream of skeletal lightning illuminates the otherwise black night sky and the ten foot tall iron gate open before you.

Travel down the long gravel driveway and through the massive oak doors. Continue past the zombie like nursing staff, down the empty corridor and take a right, that will lead to a narrow staircase. Descend deeper into the eerie building and find two door with a sign above that read "Criminally insane". Fallow the dark passage all the way to the end and turn to the left.

A deranged woman frees herself from her restraints and bolt upright up of her bed at your arrival. She laughs maniacally and clasps her metallic hands together.

**Tales from the Asylum**

"Good evening kiddies! So good to _maim_ your acquaintance. I'm your host for the _fright_, Hyena. Welcome to the asylum!" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "It's about time someone came to visit me, not even my _mummy_ will come to see me in here." She wiped a non-existent tear from her eye in mock sadness and sniffed.

"Well _boils_ and _ghouls_, let me introduce you around. In the cell to our right is Hannibal Lecter, I'm a big fan of his work. Show him the respect he deserves while you're here. Across the hall is Mallory Knox, a pioneer of her time and last but not least, beside Mallory is the one, the only Michael Myers! He makes stabbing and slashing into an art form." Hyena gushed. "My _fiends _and I have been looking forward to seeing you for what seems like and eternity." Hyena and her cell mates all smiled wickedly at the statement. "...And we've prepared a very special titillating, terrifying tale to disgust and disturb you." She slithered around her cell like a snake poised for the strike. "So strap on your straight jackets, take your meds and hold on to your vomit bags! Tonight, I'll explain why sometimes it's best if you don't get the one thing you want most in..."

_**Trick or Treat**_

Amber slumped further into her chair as the clock on the wall ticked towards three o' cock. She knew watching it so vigilantly would only make the time go by all the slower but she couldn't help herself. Tonight was the night , her night. She looked forward to halloween all 359 days of the rest of the year.

"Miss Bellows..." Her teacher, Professor Allan stood at the front of his physics class impatiently tapping his hairy knuckled fore finger on his desk waiting for Amber to acknowledge his presence. "Amber Bellows!" He beckoned.

Amber twitched out of her time induced trance and sighed. "Yes, sir." A statement rather then a response.

Professor Allan raised an eyebrow at her bemusement. "I'm so sorry, am I boring you?" He asked, sarcastically.

Amber decided there was nothing to be gained from starting an argument this late in the day, even though it was in her nature to do just that, especially considering her contempt for this particular class and it's chosen leader. So she just gritted her teeth and instead of telling the good professor that he had all the personality of a tortuous on morphine and the clock is far more interesting, she replied. "No, sir! I was just so mesmerized by your brilliance that I'm having a hard time taking it all in." She said with the biggest, fakest smile she could muster.

"Hmpf..." The professor frowned at her then continued with his endless lecture.

Finally, the clock struck three and the students, Amber in the lead, stampeded from the classroom with glee.

"Freedom!" Was heard being shouted through the halls of the school as the doors of every classroom flew open and the anxious teens flooded out in search of the nearest exit.

The teachers were anxious as well, but for another reason all together. They were in a hurry to get their paperwork done and rush home to protect their soon to be toilet paper and egg drenched homes.

Amber fought her way through the chaos and out the main doors. She scanned the front lawn and found her target quickly without hassle. There they were, right on time, waiting impatiently for her arrival. She jogged up to meet her friends at the old oak with a devious grin on her pale face.

"Hey guys!"

"Amber, about damn time!" Eric proclaimed.

"How do you guys always beat me out here?" She asked.

"Easy, skip out on this fascist prison early. Like I've been telling you all along." Monica explained in her usual mocking tone as she rolled her eyes to emphasize her point.

"Yeah, Amber. You know if you spent more time out in the real world and less time in school, you might learn something." Eric chimed in again through a mouthful of hotdog.

"Eric, the irony of that statement is epic and I'd love to discuss it further out of pure morbid fascination, but we're short on time already." Amber quipped with a triumphant, yet sad smile. Eric was a sexy and funny guy but he was also intensely stupid and had a bad attitude. Amber had known him since the third grade so she couldn't blame him for his short comings. He'd gotten the shit end of the stick when it came to upbringings. His mother abandoned him with his alcoholic father who made a living via the nastiest strip club in town.

"Well, maybe we should get our asses in gear then." Monica stated flatly.

The three headed out towards the parking lot where the remainder of their group would be waiting in this evenings transportation. As the old mustang came into view, Monica noticed that the windows were fogged up.

"Looks like we're a little early."

"Ha! Shit no, we're right on time girl!" Eric through his arms in the air and took off at full speed towards the rocking car. Amber and Monica looked at each other and shook their heads in unison but made no attempt to quicken their pace.

Eric rammed into the driver's side of the car with full force, screaming like a wild mann in hopes of scaring the two lovebirds right out of the passenger side door.

His plan didn't work perfectly but it was successful in scaring the hell out of his friends, non the less. Julie and Mike looked out out him through the foggy window in shock.

"Jesus christ, Eric! What the hell are you thinking? You might have dented the war machine!" Mike shrieked as he shoved the car door open and stepped out to examine the damage. Julie fallowed suit. Eric just laughed and clapped his hands with pride.

"Can't you two keep your sweaty hands off each other for five seconds?" Monica called out as she and Amber approached.

Mike whirled around to face his accusers. "That was a hell of a lot longer then five seconds!" He retorted in his heavy Brooklyn accent. "What, did you guys try to slither your way over here?"

"Yeah, yeah, bitch, bitch. Look, if you can keep it in your pants for a whole few hours then we can get going." Amber replied.

"Your chariot awaits, my queen." Amber looked past Mike to find Eric standing on the other side of the car with the door already open, waiting for her. Her face softened and she smiled her first genuine smile of the day. She and the rest of the group piled into the cherry red 1960's mustang and speed out of the school parking lot, towards Manhattan.

"Well..." Fox waltzed into the room, swishing and swirling her long, medieval witch costume around majestically as she danced across the floor. "What do you think?"

"You look dashing, as always, my dear." Xanatos gushed, as smooth as ever.

Fox eyed her husband up and down with out a hint of modesty. She admired the well suited devil costume, it wasn't cheesy, tacky or plain but simply perfect. "You're not so bad yourself, handsome."

Xanatos' lips curled up into his classic satisfied smirk. "Let's go say goodnight to Alex."

"I can't wait till he's old enough to take trick or treating. He'll be the scariest little man on the block." Fox purred as they made their way down the hall. They entered the nursery to find Owen had already began Alex's nightly bedtime ritual. The infant had been changed, bathed and fed, all that was left was a goodnight kiss.

"Good evening sir and madam." Owen acknowledged his employers presence without turning towards them.

"Good evening Owen." Xanatos replied cheerfully.

"How's my baby boy?" Fox chirped as she picked Alex up for a hug.

"We'll probably be out till early morning." Xanatos continued. "You know how rowdy these socialite special events can get." He somehow said while keeping a straight face.

"Understood sir." Owen replied flatly.

"We better be off then." Fox chimed in, taking her place at her husbands side. "Good night, Owen."

"Good night, miss."

The Xanatos' took their leave and Owen picked Alex back up out of his crib. He held the baby out at arms length, high in the air and let an uncharacteristic smile creep across his lips. Shimmering smoke engulfed the two of them as Owen made the transformation into his true form. Alex giggled at the display.

"Well kiddo, how about you and I have some real halloween fun?" Puck asked rhetorically.

"Oh, lord of darkness. Oh, master of pain and depravity, we worship thee!"

Brooklyn and Lexington were barely able to hush the hysterical laughter that threatened to give away their element of surprise. The idiocy of this display was truly priceless and to pass up an opportunity such as this would have been equally idiotic. So, they crouched down, wings tucked in as tight as possible, behind one of the many massive headstones that populated the cemetery.

"Come forth oh evil one and spread pestilence over the land!" The leader of the small group beckoned into the night in his high pitched, over dramatic voice. His seven quote end quote disciples sat in a circle around him, swaying and lurching about. They all hollered and moaned gibberish. Brooklyn wasn't sure whether they never intended to speak an actual language and were just making noise or if they were just badgering latin. Either way, it was prime entertainment.

The two gargoyles looked at each other and smiled deviously.

"Rise from the depths of hell, master! We invoke thee!" The summoner shrieked.

That was his cue. Brooklyn launched out from behind the tombstone and let out the most fierce loud roar he could muster. He flared his eyes and spread his wings. "Who dares to summon me!" He growled.

The group froze at the sight of him in awe. Brooklyn stepped towards them and pointed his taloned finger square at the leader of the bunch. "You." He accused. And that's all it took, the entire coven screamed bloody murder in unison. They scrambled to their feet and each took off in a different direction. Brooklyn gave a mock chase, more or less running in circles, just to make sure everyone got a good scare.

"Come forth minion!" He gave the signal for Lex to join in on the fun and he too emerged from his hiding spot to terrify the misguided kids. He bound and leapt through the air, screaming and growling.

Eventually, they herded the group towards the cemetery gates.

"Hey, where are you going?" Brooklyn called out after the fleeing teens as they made their escape out into the streets. "I thought you wanted to hang out!" He yelled, not able to stifle the laughter any longer.

Lex continued to give chase until he reached the gates and then bellowed out one last grunt at the kids as an exclamation point, then turned back to his partner in crime and applauded. "Brilliant!" He chuckled and clapped his hands harder.

Brooklyn regained his composure long enough to bow. "Why doesn't anyone want to play with me?" He mocked and then cracked back up again. Lex fell to the ground in an all out giggle fit at the remark and Brooklyn joined him.

They rolled around on the ground, quite proud of themselves for some time, until Goliath and Elisa arrived.

"So..." Goliath boomed, catching the two trouble makers attention instantly. "This explains the kids that just ran screaming into the police station stating they had accidently conjured satan and frantically apologizing." He said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his massive chest.

Brooklyn and Lex jumped to their feet and promptly wiped the smirks off their faces.

"What on earth were you two thinking?" Goliath asked, flabbergasted.

"It was just a prank." Lex squeaked but Brooklyn interjected before any more damage could be done.

"They were satan worshipers, we were scaring them straight, that's all." He said completely straight faced. Goliath wasn't buying it and neither was Elisa. "Though love." Brooklyn continued, half a statement, half a question.

"Don't you have any idea what you've done!" Elisa snapped. "Those kids are gonna be traumatized!"

"Oh come on, those kids don't have enough brains to know how to be traumatized!" Brooklyn quipped.

"Enough!" Goliath roared. "You two will go back to the clock tower and stay there for until further notice."

"What!" Lex howled. "But..."

"No buts." Goliath cut him off. "No halloween, no TV, no music, no computer, no nothing!"

"You're grounding us?" Brooklyn asked. "You've gotta be kidding."

"You want to act like hatchlings, you'll be treated as such. Now go!" Goliath ordered with stern authority.

Brooklyn and Lexington hung their heads in defeat and trudged out of the cemetery.

"Woo! Down with suburbia!" Eric belted out into the night from the back seat passenger window of the mustang.

The group had been planning this event since all the weird stories started filtering out of Manhattan into their quaint little community of Larchmont. Since there were so many strange tales centering around the 23rd precinct among those stories, that seemed the logical place to conduct an investigation... or a wicked place to have a crazy halloween party. Either way, it was going to be a wild night. Considering their mundane suburban teen lives, a wild night in the city was exactly what they needed.

Amber, Mike and Julie joined in with Eric in verbally expressing their excitement. Monica sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't come to party, she considered herself to be a serious paranormal investigator and took her work very seriously. She took everything seriously with a bit of a snooty attitude and her so-called enlightened state of consciousness made her too intelligent for the standard education system or work force. In short, she was a to cool for school high class bitch.

Mike and Julie were on the opposite side of the spectrum, they lived for fun and indulgence. For them, it was all about the now, consequences be damned.

Amber was more laid back and definitely had better sense of humor then Monica but understood the consequences of her actions unlike Mike and Julie.

Eric was up for anything, especially anything that involved Amber. As far as he was concerned, she was the only being on the face of the planet that understood him and was trust worthy therefore, she was the only being on the face of the planet worth giving a shit about.

The five adventure seekers speed wildly down the street towards their destination with was now coming into view. Julie was the first to notice.

"There it is! Here we come baby!" She squealed with anticipation and leaned over in her seat to plant a sloppy kiss on Mike who didn't seem to care whether he could see the road or not. Monica reached over from the back seat and ripped Julie from her bo's lips then smacked Mike upside the head.

"Pay attention!" She spat at Mike then turned her glare towards Julie. "Are you trying to get us all killed or are you just that fucking stupid?" She asked with a snarl.

"Eat me!" Was Julies rebuttal.

"Amber, remind me again why we hang out with her." Mike rudely gestured toward Monica.

"You fucking.."

"Hey, shitheads!" Amber cut Monica off before a major fight started. "We're here." She pointed out the window. They pulled up outside the police station and piled out of the cramped car.

"So.." Eric clapped his hands together and bounced about, eager to get things going. "How are we gonna do this? Should I create a distraction while you guys sneak in?"

"Eric, it's a police station." Amber answered flatly.

"You got a better idea?" He asked a little offended.

"Of course I do." Monica interrupted, stepping in between the two. Eric gave her a dirty look as she snatched the car keys from Mike and opened the trunk. She pulled out a duffle bag and opened it revealing their halloween costumes.

"Police uniforms. You gotta be shitting me." Mike gawked at the contents of the duffle bag.

"I shit you not." Monica replied with a big triumphant smile.

"This is all well and good but don't we need badge numbers to get past security?" Eric interjected.

"Ooo, very astute, Eric. You deserve a gold star." Monica mocked him. "Yes, we do need badge numbers and here they are." She said as she reached into the side pocket on the duffle bag and pulled out five very genuine looking badges. She offered them out to everyone in her audience who, except Amber, took them with questioning looks. "It's amazing what you can accomplish via internet." Was her only explanation.

"Well, OK then. Where do we change?" Mike asked with a glimmer in his eyes.

Puck and his pupil arrived at the clock tower via teleportation and mischief was in the air.

"Alright kid, are you ready for your first lesson in shape shifting?" The infant giggled in response. "I've been looking forward to this lesson since you were born. It's a personal favorite of mine, always a gas!" He continued with unbridled enthusiasm then brought Alex closer to whisper in his ear as if the walls had ears. "Just between you and me, we may be jumping the gun a little on this lesson, but I just can't wait to see what you're really capable of!"

With that, Puck took his student and concealed himself in the shadows to wait. The plan was to transform Goliath into human form so that he may experience sunlight, acceptance and love with a certain detective as a gift from Titania for all he and the clan had done for her and her family. Naturally, Puck had to put his own spin on things and, of course, he needed Alex to access his powers, so it all worked out perfectly in his eyes.

He knew timing was the key for this to go smoothly, so he started teaching Alex the incantation weeks ago.

Amber, Eric, Mike, Julie and Monica had no trouble getting past building security which was both fantastic and slightly disturbing at the same time.

They casually made their way to the top floor. Among her other attributes, Monica was a wiz with computers so she was able to hack into NYPD data base to obtain the badge numbers as well as a blueprint of the station so they would at least look like they knew what they were doing.

"Where the hell is the tower entrance?" Monica asked herself as she studied the map she had copied from the illegally downloaded blueprint.

"Holy shit, baby genius is lost. The universe should be collapsing on itself any minute now!" Julie muttered under her breath coaxing a snicker from Mike and the evil eye from Monica.

"According to the map the entrance should be right here." Amber said, reading the map over Monica's shoulder.

"That's a closet." Eric said with a dazed look on his face.

"Really?" Monica asked sarcastically.

"You can give me all the shit you what, Monica, but in the end you're the one who can't read your own map." Eric shot back.

"Hey, guys..." Amber called out. "I found it." She said, already in the closet, pointing at the stairs leading to a hatch in the ceiling.

"Huh, I guess I _can_ read my own map." Monica stated, glaring at Eric. He raised his middle finger in the air as a response.

The group filed into the closet and, one by one, made their way up the stairway.

"Fucking awesome, just fucking awesome!" Brooklyn rumbled as he and Lex landed on the balcony of the clock tower.

"Hey, it was your idea." Lex accused, pointing his taloned finger in his brother's face.

"And it was a god idea." Brooklyn responded in defense.

"Not according to Goliath and Elisa."

"Yeah, well the amazing humorless wonder and his little side kick don't consider any idea that wasn't their own to be of any value." He said flatly.

Lex couldn't help but chuckle at the remark as he swung the door open.

Puck heard the banter on the balcony and realized he might have to go out in search of Goliath rather then wait for him to come home. This put a it of a damper on his mood as he'd gone to so much trouble ensuring it would be Goliath and Elisa who would arrive back at this very moment.

The loud crack and squeal of the floor hatch opening jolted Puck from his thoughts. He watched curiously as five teenagers he'd never seen before slowly and carefully entered the clock tower form below.

The first to step inside was a tall, pale girl with straight waist length black hair. She scanned her surrounding and then motioned for another to fallow. The next was husky jock with scruffy brown hair fallowed by another female with short chocolate brown curly hair and a dark tan and then yet another two emerged, hand in hand. A blond who looked like a budding porn star and a clean cut pretty boy.

Amber was the first to will herself through the opening, she cautiously stepped onto the platform and looked around. Noting that the coast was clear she signaled for Eric to join her fallowed by Monica, Julie and Mike.

They all split off in different directions to explore as soon as they felt safe enough.

This was a prime opportunity to have a little harmless fun. Puck just couldn't help himself. With a smile stretching from ear to ear on his mischievous lip, he sat Alex down on the floor and floated out of the shadows in perfect view of the curious visitors.

"Evening." A voice came from out of nowhere and all five of them simultaneously twitched, Julie screamed at the top of her lungs, and turned towards the phantom voice.

"I believe you're trespassing." Puck continued, wagging his finger in the air. "Naughty, naughty."

"Shit!" Eric exclaimed as he realized where the voice was coming from and pointed out the apparition to his friends.

Julie scrambled for the floor hatch as soon as she spotted what Eric was pointing out but Puck anticipated an escape attempt and closed and locked the hatch before anyone could get to it with the snap of his finger. Julie shrieked and jumped on the door in a panic, trying to rip through it.

"Now, now, you shouldn't have joined in if you didn't want to play the game." Puck laughed as the frantic blond pounded on the floor.

"What the hell are you?" Amber squeaked out.

"What difference does it make... I'm floating!" Puck shouted as he shot from side to side in the air to accentuate his point. He laughed hysterically as his victims scurried about.

Eric ran to Amber and pulled her behind him to shield her. Puck spotted the move and took it as an invitation. He barreled towards them at full speed and stopped just short of Eric's nose.

"You don't really think that's gonna do any good do you?" He whispered. But before Eric could answer something else caught Puck's attention. It was the cooing laughter of the baby that had been left to his own devices in the corner. But he was no longer in the corner, he had made his way onto the banister and he seemed quite interested in the uninvited guests.

"Alex, no, no..." Puck instructed gently, but it was too late. Alex waved his stubby hands in the air and mush mouthed something Puck couldn't decipher. The spell was cast.

A misty white light emerged from the infants eyes and traveled to engulf the teens before Puck could stop it and the they all disappeared from sight.

Puck inspected the floor, the walls and then the roof but had no way of knowing what spell Alex had cast without knowing what words he had spoken.

"Uh oh..." He mumbled, lightly clapping his hands together and pursing his lips. The guilty look on his face quickly gave way to a grimace when he heard the door to the balcony open. "Time for stealth mode." He grumbled as he picked Alex up into his arms. The two faded out of sight just as Brooklyn and Lexington entered the clock tower, completely oblivious to their presence.

Lex sighed. "So, what do we do now?"

As the strange mist that had swallowed them up subsided, Amber, Eric, Mike, Julie and Monica tried to collect themselves.

"What... the... fuck?" Eric asked, flabbergasted as he looked around in a daze.

"Where are we?" Julie squeaked, careful to remain motionless just in case.

"Alright, I'm done with this bullshit!" Monica snapped as she shoved her way through the cluster that her friends had formed, trying to gain some sort of sense of security. "Hey, you creepy little fucker, whatever prank you're trying to pull isn't amusing so knock it off!"

"Monica, shut the fuck up." Amber whispered.

"Why?" She shot back. "You're not really scared are you? It's all just smoke and mirrors. That freak is probably just an out of work magician looking to mindfuck us because we discovered that he was squatting here.

"Monica.." Mike tried to cut her off but she didn'tcare.

"In fact, this explains all the weird shit that's been going on here..."

"Monica..." Mike tried again, more forcibly this time.

" so come on out, loser, your little game is done!" She hollered into the empty air.

"Monica!" Mike bellowed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, what?" She turned violently towards him and quickly fell silent.

The group stood in silent shock, staring at what, until then, was impossible as a giant foot lifted into the air and fell back to the ground with a earthshaking rumble.

They all turned their gaze upwards in unison to discover the massive foot belonged to the supposed magician.

His gargantuan head lowered closer to their height and came nearly nose to mammoth nose with Monica, though he didn't seem to notice her. He swept the area with his eyes then returned to full height.

"Uh oh..." They heard him mumble. "Time to go to stealth mode." And then he was gone.

"Jesus christ." Amber gasped as she lowered her wide eyed gaze back down to their level.

"No, it's just not possible." Monica said in a shaking voice.

"What the hell do we do?"Julie asked no one in particular.

"No, no, this isn't real."Monica continued to try to convince herself, trembling violently.

"I don't know..." Mike answered Julie, paying no attention to Monica's rambling.

"Well, is everybody ok at least?" Eric chimed in. All answered with nods and confirming noises, except, of course for Monica.

"Ok?" She squeaked. "Ok? No I'm not Ok, this is not Ok!"

"Mon, this is not a suitable time for a breakdown. Let's just..."

"NO!" She cut him off in wild spasm. "No, no, no, no!" She screeched over and over at deafening level.

"Take it easy!" Eric tried to yell over her relentless harpy like howling. But it did no good, her sanity was a lost cause. She tore off on a rampage, flailing her limbs around maniacally, never even pausing her screams to take another breath.

"Monica, stop!" Amber called after the terrified girl. "We should stay together!"

"Where are you going?" Julie joined in with Amber.

Monica continued on her path of destruction, wailing all the time. The others gave chase but she was far out ahead of them and in her panicked state she didn't notice the fast approaching danger until it was too late.

"Mon, look out!" Amber shrieked.

A nauseating crunch echoed through the air as a giant green taloned foot came crashing down on top of the fleeing girl.

"Eww." Lex moaned.

"What happened?" Brooklyn asked

"Stepped on a bug." He replied.

"Yummy." Brooklyn mocked as he inspected the tiny dot of bug guts on the floor.

"Oh, god!" Julie howled, falling to her knees and wailing hysterically.

As the foot ascended Monica's remains came into view. She had been reduced to a pile of crushed bone fragments, smeared organs and hair melting into a bubbling pool of blood.

Mike began projectile vomiting at the sight of it. Julie continued to scream and rock back and forth in denial. Amber clung to Eric and cried uncontrollably.

"Mon, no, Mon!" Amber begged. "Oh, god! Oh, god!"

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Trick or Treat Part 2

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I still do not own gargoyles or tales from the crypt.

"Mon, Mon!" Amber begged, her grip like a vice on Eric's arm. "Oh god, oh god!" Eric stood silent, his eyes darting around the environment and jaw agape.

"We should find a place to regroup." He said softly and gently ushered Amber away from the scene. Being the typical hardheaded athlete, this was Eric's solution to everything. But, regardless, the idea made sense.

Having completely emptied his innards of everything and anything, Mike rose from his knees and moved towards Julie on shaky legs. She was deep in denial and either wouldn't or couldn't acknowledge Mike's presence as he quietly urged her to rise and fallow the remains of the group to a relatively safe area.

"Come on, baby. Let's get outta here. It's not safe." No response, she simply continued her rocking motion and shook her head. "We gotta go before they spot us." He persisted.

"Just fucking drag her ass!" Amber growled, growing more then a little impatient. She was not in the mood for Julies infamous dramatics, though for once the situation actually did warrant such a reaction. Normally, she just did it for attention.

"What is you fucking damage?" Mike, of course, jumped to Julies aid. "She just witnessed her friend get crushed!"

"We all witnessed it, Mike!" Amber retorted. "And she hated Monica anyway!"

"So what? You think she should be totally cool with what happened then?"

"No, but freaking out isn't going to help anything. This is no time for a psychological break down!"

"This is the perfect time for a psychological break down!"

"Will you two please shut the fuck up and move!" Eric ordered as the initial shock wore off and by some miracle, he was the only one with what little wits he had about him. "They're getting closer again."

The traumatized teens all looked up in unison at the approaching giants.

"You wanna play video games?" Lex asked, trying to make the best of the situation as per usual.

"No." Brooklyn replied flatly as he slumped down in Hudson's chair.

"Watch TV or a movie?" Brooklyn shook his head and sighed. Lex huffed at his brothers pouty demeanor. "I take it you just wanna sit there and sulk then." His statement dripping with sarcasm, earning a single fingered response.

"How becoming of a future leader." Lex snickered.

"You are just aching for bitch slap, aren't you." Brooklyn sneered. Lex decided it best just to back off for now, there was no winning with him when he was already convinced he was in the right. Instead he just rolled his eyes and resigned to watching TV despite Brooklyns objection, but when he went to reach for the remote he spotted a small cluster of what looked like black ants huddled together on the floor.

"It sees us." Amber choked out.

Mike turned his aw struck gaze back down to his mortified girlfriend. "Julie, get the fuck up now. We gotta go!" He ordered with heightened urgency as he tried to shake her out of her trance but her posture remained steadfast.

"Oh, gross!" Lex exclaimed.

"What now?" Brooklyn asked with irritation.

"Looks like we've got an infestation."

Brooklyn dug himself out of the recliner to investigate. "An infestation?" He repeated as he looked over his brothers shoulder at the source of his disgust. "It's four ants, that hardly qualifies as an infestation."

"No, five. That must have been what I stepped on earlier."

"Oh, five, excuse me!" Brooklyn over acted wildly, jumping to his feet and flailing his arms in the air. "I'm gonna go call the national guard, you wait here and try to keep them at bay, but don't get yourself killed for fuck sake!"

Lexington scrunched his face into the most evil glare he could muster. "You are a first rate, grade A, magnificent specimen of an asshole."

"And you're a pussy."

"Oh, go to hell!" Lexington lashed out. "I know you're afraid of snakes!"

"Yeah, snakes. Deadly poisonous snakes with fangs and forked tongues." He agreed as he made his way around Lex to hover next to the offending group of insects. "But, these are ants, Lex. Not fire ants or harvest ants but just your basic harmless black ant. Look..." He bent down to retrieve one.

Mikes pleading with Julie became wild as he violently shook her, desperate to get through to her when two massive claws started to decent towards them.

"Julie, come on, Julie!" He frantically screamed.

Eric lunged towards his friends as the menacing talons closed in, tackling Mike out of the way just in time. But he was too late to save Julie, she was lifted high into the air head first, pinned between the two fingers. She shrieked like bloody murder on her way up, limbs flailing helplessly.

"See." Brooklyn pointed out the harmlessness of the bug as he pinched it's head between his claws then playfully chucked towards Lex. He jumped when it slapped against his chest and he promptly brushed it off.

"I fucking hate bugs!" He wailed as it's lifeless form tumbled to the floor.

Julies skull cracked from the pressure of the giant's grip. She lost the ability to scream as bloody tears were squeezed from her eyes. A sudden feeling of relief flowed through her when the pressure eased, but it was short lived. Her breath caught in her throat as she was hurled through the air at break neck speed only to come crashing into a fleshy green wall of muscle and before she could even attempt to inhale something bearing the weight of a pick up truck came sweeping down on her. Blood violently exploded from her swollen lips on impact, she was dead before she even slipped off his chest.

"Fuck this, fuck you and fuck your little friends down there!" Lexington went off on a tirade of hate and embarrassment, storming around the room and flipping off everything in his path. Brooklyn desperately tried to suppress the impending laughter. Maybe the evening wasn't a total loss after all, as a matter of fact, this could be very entertaining.

Lexington skulked off the the corner, snatching up a random book along the way and plunked himself down on the stairs, purposefully ignoring his brother.

Alex laughed at his mentors bazaar and animated antics as he attempted to figure out what spell it was that he had accidently cast.

"Ok little man, wave your hands in the air like you just don't care and go!" Puck urged him on, mimicking the actions he wanted his young pupil to make.

Alex stuck his stubby tongue out and spit, clapping his hands together. Puck slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"If big daddy Oberon finds out about this he won't be pleased." He thought out loud as he shifted his tired eyes back towards the bickering gargoyles from their stealthy position in the rafters. "At least their still blissfully ignorant."

"Julie!" Mike bellowed as he charged off in the direction that she had been flung. Amber and Eric fallowed along but truth be told, they were in no real hurry to observe another mutilated body. He ran the fair distance in a minimal amount of time, far ahead of his slower friends. He spun around on his heels and huffed when he didn't spot her right away.

"Julie! Where are you?" He repeatedly called into the emptiness, his voice high and cracking with every other syllable. He obsessively searched and screamed for an answer as Amber and Eric caught up to him.

"Mike, there's nothing we can do..."

Eric chimed in to finish Amber's sentence for her without permission. "There's no way she could have survived."

"You don't know that!" Mike shot back in a blind rage.

"Yes, I do. Her fucking head was crushed! Now we need to get outta here before the same thing happens to us and it's game over."

"This isn't a football game and show some goddamn tact, asshole!" Amber promptly elbowed Eric in the ribs, effectively silencing him. But, the damage was already done. Mike's eyes bulged from his head as he processed the words Eric had spoken and he was about to lunge at him when something wet and warm splashed down onto his forehead. He stopped dead in his tracks and ran a hand across his face, smearing the sticky red liquid over his skin.

Amber gasped and held her hand tight over her mouth as another drip tumbled down into his hair. Mike hesitantly forced his head to tilt upwards just in time for a third droplet to fall directly into his left eye.

The search party had converged under a small wooden end table which held a remote, some magazines and left over chinese take out including chop sticks. There was Julie, impales on one the sticks, hanging slightly over the edge of the table, her lifeless body draining of all the precious life sustaining fluid.

"No!" Mike screamed at the horrendous sight above him. "Goddamn it!" He took off like a shot towards one of the table legs with the intention of climbing it, but it's surface was too smooth. He jumped, slid and fell several times before regaining his senses enough to come to the conclusion that this wasn't working and he would have to find another way up. Yes, Julie was stone cold dead. He knew that, but it didn't matter, he needed to get to her one way or another. He jetted towards the recliner positioned next to the table and desperately clawed at the fabric.

"Eric get your ass over here and help me!" He desperately ordered as he struggled. Eric was about to protest but Amber gave him a knowing look so he trudged up to his distraught friend. Mike nearly bounded onto Eric's shoulders in his haste to gain height.

"Lex." Brooklyn called through his stifled chuckles. "Come on, don't pout." When his brother still refused any response Brooklyn crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the infamous adder incident..."

"And that was how many years ago?" Lex shot back with malice. "I thought we'd grown up just a little bit in all this time."

"Alright, fare is fare. You got me, I got you. Can we move on with our lives now?" Brooklyn casually requested as he plunked himself back down into the recliner.

"Nope." Lex replied without missing a beat.

Brooklyn rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, because that tiny harmless ant that barely touched you was far worse then the angry venomous snake that bit me." He whispered more to himself then to his brother, then he noticed movement to his right. Two of the insects in question were slowly making their way up the side of the chair. "Hmm, fearless little basturds."

"What?" Lex squawked out of his corner.

Brooklyn contemplated the situation as it presented itself a moment before answering. "Nothing." Was what he decided on when he recalled how tremendously painful it was when that adder snake sunk it's fangs into his hand. Granted, Lex didn't know it was poisonous when he chucked it at him just hoping to give him a good scare and, yes, he did apologize after the fact, but still... "Fare is fare." He mused. Raising his eye ridge, he silently scooped up one of the ants by it's hind legs and let it drop into Lexingtons left over chinese food container.

"Julie, I'm coming!" Mike screeched as he and Eric made the treacherous climb up the side of the recliner and finally ascended over the arm. Mike didn't even pause to access the distance of the gap between the chair and the table before making the death defying leap across. Eric, on the other hand, stopped short of the gap. He glanced down to Amber on the floor who shook her head in a silent plea to stop the insanity. He huffed in frustration and called out.

"Mike, you gotta let it go man!"

As he approached his lovers body, blood spilling out of every orifice, lifeless and limp, it finally began to sink in. Mike slowed, then came to a complete halt just underneath Julie. He stared at the corpse in shock. Then without warning, his legs lifted out from underneath him. He had been so entranced by the gruesome scene before him that he hadn't heard Eric's cries of danger that the giant creature had noticed them.

"Lex, you gonna eat this?" Brooklyn asked already knowing the answer. When Lexington was mad at someone he would become spiteful.

"Why?" He asked in a snarly tone.

"Well, if you don't want it, I'll..."

"Yes, I'm going to eat it!" Lex cut him off and stomped over to the table. He grasped the container with unnecessary force and downed the whole thing without even sniffing it to make sure it was still good.

Brooklyn gasped and bit his lower lip to keep himself from hysterical laughter.

"Um, Lex remember that little chat we had about not letting your anger cloud your judgment?"

Lexington just stared at his brother as the horror washed over him.

"You didn't..."

"Aaaarrrrgh!" Mike howled as he helplessly tumbled into the dark cave like, monestrous mouth amongst the cold chow main. He fought with all his might against the flowing current of crumbled food and saliva but it was useless as the massive tongue pushed him further from the opening. Mike wildly clawed at the slippery gums as he slid down the throat, through the esophagus and into the stomach.

Inexplicable pain washed over him as stomach acid ravaged his flesh, he watched in horror as his skin melted away and oozed into the the fiery liquid leaving nothing but bloodied bones behind.

Eric landed on the floor with a loud thump to find Amber in the middle of a nervous break down.

"We're all gonna die, we're all dead!" She chanted relentlessly. Eric didn't bother trying to snap her out of it, instead he scooped her up in his arms and headed for seclusion under the recliner. He gently lay her down and allowed her to mourn in peace while he observed the beasts activities from the shadows of the fabric lining.

Lexington dropped the empty container at the revelation and without a word, lunged at Brooklyn who promptly dodged the furious gargoyle.

"Hey, I didn't make you eat that shit!" Brooklyn argued as he backed away defensively, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Lex gave chase with vengeance in his ablaze eyes. "Don't start something you can't finish!" Brooklyn warned, still backing away but with a mischievous smile spread across his vicious beak.

"I'll finish you!" Lex growled, although playfully, as he lunged for a second time.

"Eric..." Amber whispered. He turned to silently acknowledge her call. "If we get outta this, I think it's about time you asked me out on a real date." She instructed then smiled warmly.

Eric returned her smile and nodded his affirmation. "Guess I can be a little slow sometimes."

"But not tonight." She countered. Eric stood at full height from his hunched position and approached Amber with purpose. "Everything else aside..." He spoke sweetly as he offered her his hand. "Hearing you say that to me makes this the best night of my life." Amber shamelessly allowed a single tear to slide down her cheek as she accepted his hand and stood up. They gazed into each others eyes, lost in the moment. Eric was the first to lean in, he brushed his lips against her and she eagerly reciprocated. They shared a blissfully deep kiss that both wished would last forever.

A loud high pitched squeal signaled the end as the recliner shook above them. It fell backwards with force, slicing a rusty spring straight through both their necks in a scissoring effect. Their head toppled to the floor still attached at the lips, their bodies fallowed soon there after.

Lexington tackled Brooklyn into the recliner, knocking it and him over backwards. He bound on top of his brother and repeatedly swatted at him while Brooklyn blocked his important parts and giggled at the silliness of it all.

"What is going on here?" Goliath boomed from the clock doorway, Brooklyn promptly shoved Lex off of him and jumped to his feet. Lex knocked the end table over and spilled it's contents everywhere in his haste to stand at attention.

Broadway bounced through the door fallowed by an unamused Angela. "Elisa told us what you did. Shame!" He wagged his chubby talon at them, ever the suck up. Brooklyn openly glared at him. Lex was never as defiant s his brother when Goliath was around.

"Mind your own business, lad." Hudson warned as he shuffled straight for his turned over chair. Broadway lowered his head and turned his attentions back to Angela who was wearing an ear to ear smirk.

"You two weren't sent back here to continue your shenanigans." Goliath frowned, ignoring the other goings on. "I must say I am disappointed in you both and I expect major changes in both your attitudes. Do you understand?"

Brooklyn couldn't resist even despite the trouble he was already in. "Everything except 'shenanigans'" Even Elisa couldn't stifle a chuckle at the comment but Goliath was less then amused, he growled his displeasure and Brooklyn tried for a quick save. "...But everything else is crystal clear." He stammered.

Elisa decided to stop the fight before it started, after all, Brooklyns excuse of scaring the kids in the cemetery straight had actually worked in a weird way. "Come on, big guy, the sun is rising. You can punish them further tomorrow night." She said, laying her delicate hand on his rough shoulder. Goliath reluctantly agreed and called for everyone to take their positions on the balcony.

"Brook made me eat a bug." Lex tattled as they all filed out the door, earning a side smack from his brother.

Puck watched as the detective lightly stepped down the stairs and out of sight. "Finally." He exclaimed. "Now let's see if we can fix this. I didn't want to have to resort to this 'cause it can be dangerous depending on what you did in the first place, but what choice do we have?" Alex chirped in response. "That's what I thought." Puck continued as he floated down from the rafters. "A straight up reverser spell should do the trick..."

He raised his hands in the air and spoke an ancient latin mantra. The atmosphere twirled around in a stationary whirlwind and the earth seemed to shake as the miniature carnage grew into view. Puck looked on the bloody mess with wide eyes and would have retched had he been a mortal. His jaw hung loose from his face in shock.

Two headless bodies, one with a hole in her chest and one mess of blood and guts littered the floor.

"Oh... hell..." He muttered. Alex, in his blissful ignorance, just giggled and clapped as usual.

"Well, my minions, did you learn anything?" Hyena asked, sitting comfortably on her cold cement cell floor. "Personally, I'm going to hire Puck and Alex to plan my next party and Brooklyn and Lexington can provide the entertainment! So, until then, have a good _fright _and happy Halloween!"

The End.


End file.
